No repeat of last years start

The opening half hour was largely uneventful, with both sides looking a little rusty after a summer without competition. First touches were a little heavy and passing was a little loose. Our best chances were a half volley on the stretch from our Irish winger Joe O'Neill and a hurried shot on the run from captain Connor Smith, though neither worried the keeper.

Then, out of nothing we took the lead. A ball was played into the feet of Alex McDonald in the box and he drew a foul, winning the penalty. Jay Rodriguez stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way. Vale came more into the game following this and Jack Baker, a recent arrival from Crewe, had to make two smart saves as the visitors cut through our defence.

As the half progressed Smith took centre stage. Firstly he was unlucky not to win a penalty as he jinked his way into the box and was taken out by a defender. He followed this up by hitting the post two minutes later after again evading the defence and creating room in the area.

The second half saw the visitors step it up a gear or two and, unfortunately, we were just overpowered by them. Ten minutes in frantic defending saw the ball cleared off our line three or four times in a matter of seconds as our goal led a charmed life.

We brought on two players from the U-16 side in the form of Chris Anderson and Alex-Ray Harvey who replaced Adam Kay and the injured Paul Casey. What little rhythm we had was lost and when Vale again laid siege to our goal we weren't as lucky as last time and the ball fell to their number 4, who smashed home.

Tom Bradley was then injured in a challenge near the touchline and a stretcher was quickly called for. It looked to be his knee that was the problem and, with the injuries that he has suffered in the past we were left hoping that it wasn't as serious as we feared. Rob Turner replaced him, meaning that we had to completely re-shuffle.

Into the final ten we looked to snatch a win and good work by Turner saw us force successive corners but they came to nought. As we pressed and again changed our formation there was a lapse at the back and the Vale forward was allowed in to shoot across the keeper into the back of the net.

McDonald picked up a stoppage time booking for a needless lunge but time ran out for us as the game ended 2-1 to the visitors.

Team:- Jack Baker, Dean Stott, Paul Casey (Alex-Ray Harvey), Tom Blackler, Tom Bradley (Rob Turner), Ash Young, Joe O'Neill, Adam Kay (Chris Anderson), Connor Smith, Jay Rodriguez, Alex McDonald. Subs not used:- Jon Sergeant, Lewis Craig.